MIDDLETOWN -- The lawyer for Lennord Whittle's family is calling for an independent investigation into the shooting death of the 25-year-old.

Whittle was shot by Middletown police Tuesday afternoon on Academy Avenue. Police say Whittle was carrying a knife and chasing another man around and inside Sam's Food Stores.

Michael Sussman, who is representing the family, said he is conducting his own investigation as state police and the Orange County District Attorney's office conduct theirs. He said the man Whittle was pursuing had taunted him in the past, which may have led to the confrontation Tuesday. Various sources have told the Times Herald-Record that the man Whittle pursued had previously taunted him with homophobic slurs.

According to Sussman, witnesses have said that, when Whittle was shot, he was not in contact with the man he had been chasing, nor threatening anyone else.

“We know of no imminent threat he posed to anyone,” Sussman said.

Sussman said police appear to have fired between seven and 11 shots, of which three struck Whittle.

Sussman called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the shooting and any other cases that involve police force. Sussman has represented families in a number of police shooting cases in the Hudson Valley, including Michael Lembhard's in Newburgh. The City Council voted to request a special prosecutor there; Cuomo rejected the request.

Sussman argued that county district attorneys' offices can't be expected to impartially investigate police agencies that they have to work with closely as prosecutors.

“There's an inherent conflict of interest that manifests in every one of these cases,” he said. “It decreases public trust, and it needs to be remedied in New York.”